European Scout Region (World Organization of the Scout Movement)


The European Scout Region is one of six geographical subdivisions of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a satellite office in Brussels, Belgium.

Structure

Members

The European Scout Region comprises 41 National Scout Organizations that are members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and services Scouting in Western and Central Europe, excluding the former Soviet republics and Turkey, and, as a member of the United Nations' Western European and Others Group, Israel. The World Organization of the Scout Movement recognises at most one member organisation per country. Some countries have several organisations combined as a federation, with different component groups divided on the basis of religion, ethnic identification, or language.
All the formerly communist states of Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union have developed or are developing Scouting in the wake of the renaissance in the region. These include Albania, Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the successor states to Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Baltic nations independent of the former Soviet Union. Of these, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary have been most successful in regrowing their Scout movements and are very well-developed, thanks in part to the existence of Scouts-in-Exile movements for the diaspora of each nation.
CountryMembership
Name of National Scout OrganisationYear current National Scout Organisation joined WOSMYear National Scout Organisation was foundedAdmits boys/girls
Austria10,136Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs1922/19461912both
Belgium103,725Guides and Scouts Movement of Belgium 19221911both
Bosnia and Herzegovina3,247Savjet izviđačkih organizacija u Bosni i Hercegovini 19991999both
Bulgaria966Organizatsia Na Bulgarskite Skauty19991911–1913both
Croatia2,550Savez izviđača Hrvatske19931915both
Cyprus5,890Cyprus Scouts Association19611913both
Czech Republic51,234Junák-český skaut1922/1990/19961911both
Denmark43,282Fællesrådet for Danmarks Drengespejdere 19221909both
Estonia1,346Eesti Skautide Ühing1922/19961911/1989both
Finland52,655Suomen Partiolaiset – Finlands Scouter ry19221910both
France76,342Scoutisme Français 19221910both
Germany110,165Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände 19501910both
Greece18,643Soma Hellinon Proskopon19221910both
Hungary12,447Magyar Cserkészszövetség1922/19901912both
Iceland4,960Bandalag Íslenskra Skáta19241912both
Ireland44,982Scouting Ireland19491908both
Israel83,332Hitachdut Hatsofim Ve Hatsofot Be Israel 19511920both
Italy102,904Federazione Italiana dello Scautismo 1922/19461912both
Latvia872Latvijas Skautu un Gaidu Centrālā Organizācija19931917both
Liechtenstein702Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Liechtensteins19331931both
Lithuania1,881Lietuvos Skautija19971918both
Luxembourg6,327Luxembourg Boy Scouts Association 19221914both
Malta3,100The Scout Association of Malta19661908both
Monaco374Association des Guides et Scouts de Monaco19901990both
Montenegro1,268Savez Izviđača Crne Gore20081956both
Netherlands57,516Scouting Nederland19221910both
North Macedonia1,483Sojuz na Izvidnici na Makedonija19971921both
Norway17,736Speidernes Fellesorganisasjon 19221911both
Poland39,825Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego1922/19961918both
Portugal80,718Federação Escotista de Portugal 19221913both
Romania4,000Cercetaşii României19931914both
San Marino260Associazione Guide Esploratori Cattolici Sammarinesi19901973both
Serbia4,168Savez Izviđača Srbije19951915both
Slovakia6,927Slovenský skauting1922/1990/19971913both
Slovenia6,524Zveza tabornikov Slovenije19941915both
Spain67,660Federación de Escultismo en España 1922/19781912both
Sweden34,990Scouterna19221911both
Switzerland23,298Swiss Guide and Scout Movement19221912both
Turkey141,277Türkiye İzcilik Federasyonu19501923both
United Kingdom548,128The Scout Association19221907both

Overseas branches

Denmark
The European Scout Conference is the governing body of the European Scout Region and meets every three years. Its purposes are:
The 20th European Scout Conference was hosted by Guidisme et Scoutisme en Belgique and was held in Brussels, Belgium, from 17–21 July 2010.
The 21st European Scout Conference is scheduled to take place in Berlin, Germany, in August 2013, hosted by the Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderverbände.

European Regional Scout Committee

The European Regional Scout Committee is the executive body of the European Regional Scout Conference and is composed of six elected volunteer members.
The functions of the European Regional Scout Committee are:
The members of the European Regional Scout Committee are elected for a three-year term by the European Regional Scout Conference, and may be re-elected for an immediate second term. The members, elected without regard to their nationality, do not represent their country or National Scout Organisation but the interests of the Scout Movement as a whole, similar to Members of the World Scout Committee.
The Regional Director and the Treasurer of the European Scout Region are ex-officio members of the European Regional Scout Committee. The Chairman of the European Scout Foundation also regularly attends meetings of the European Regional Scout Committee.

European Regional Scout Office

The European Regional Scout Office serves as secretariat of the European Scout Region and is one of six Regional Offices of the World Scout Bureau, the secretariat of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. A Regional Director heads the European Regional Scout Office and is assisted by a number of professional staff. Currently, the European Regional Scout Office has offices in Geneva, Switzerland and Brussels, Belgium. Additional out-offices are situated in Belgrade, Serbia and Veles, North Macedonia.

European Regional Scout Plan 2010–2013

In 2010, the 20th European Scout Conference adopted the European Regional Scout Plan 2010–2013, which summarises the Region's main areas of work, objectives and action planned for the triennium 2010–2013.

Working Groups and Core Groups

In order to achieve the objectives set out by the European Regional Scout Plan 2010–2013, five thematic Working Groups and three supporting Core Groups were set up in December 2010, composed of volunteers from different member organisations of the European Scout Region and supported by members of the European Regional Scout Committee and the European Regional Scout Office.
Working Groups:
Core Groups:
The needs of Scout youth in unusual situations has created some interesting permutations, answerable directly to the World Scout Bureau. For years there was an active Boy Scouts of the United Nations in Geneva, as well as 84 Scouts of the European Coal and Steel Community, an early precursor to the European Union.

Cooperation

As one of the six geographical subdivisions of the World Organization of the Scout Movement the European Scout Region developed close relationships with a number of other Regions, in particular with the Arab Scout Region, the Africa Scout Region and the Eurasia Scout Region.
The European Scout Region also supports multilateral and bilateral relationships between National Scout Organisations of the European Scout Region with Scout associations of other Regions.
This region is the counterpart of the Europe Region of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. The European Scout Region has a strong relationship with the Europe Region of WAGGGS. To further develop their relationship, the two Regions had a Joint Regional Office during the late 1990s in Brussels, Belgium, which was closed again in 1998.
An informal Joint Regional Committee composed of the two Regional Committees continues to discuss matters of mutual interest and supports the planning and running of joint youth activities and training events.
The two Regions also maintain a Joint Communication Platform, which provides information for member organisations of the European Scout Region and the Europe Region WAGGGS. Together published a monthly newsletter called Eurofax, which operates within the Council of Europe and European Union areas and works closely with these two bodies. It is also represented in the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe and has regular contacts with relevant institutions of the European Union.
A WOSM joint Eurasian-and-European Scout meeting was held in Kiev in April 2009.

Activities

The European Scout Region offers a number of sharing and training activities for its member organizations, a number of which are organised jointly with the Europe Region of WAGGGS. The main purpose of these activities is to provide opportunities for sharing and exchanging of experiences and best practices as well as training for adult volunteers and professionals involved in Scouting.
Among regularly held events are:
The European Scout Region also supports informal networks of member organisations of the European Scout Region which provide platforms for dialogue and exchange in specific areas:
The European Region of WOSM is the organizer of the European Scout Jamboree, which has been organized twice, in both cases as a dry run for a World Scout Jamboree organized in the same country within a few years. European jamborees are open to youth between the ages of 11 and 17, however many adults are involved as Scout leaders or as members of the IST,
Past European Scout Jamborees include:
The European Scout Jamboree 2005 was held in the summer 2005 and lasted for 12 days between July 29 and August 10, in Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Essex, near Gilwell Park, an important campsite and training center for Scout Leaders. About 10,000 Scouts from 40 countries were involved; it was considered the biggest Scout gathering in Europe for over 10 years and 50 years in the United Kingdom. It was also a dry run allowing the organization team of the 21st World Scout Jamboree to test a number of aspects of the upcoming event, e.g. traffic issues, necessary infrastructures and logistics.

Roverway

Roverway is a joint activity of the European Region of WOSM and the Europe Region of WAGGGS, a ten-day event open for youth aged 16 to 22, who are members of the senior branches of member organisations of WOSM or WAGGGS. The activity was introduced in 2003 and consists usually of two stages: a "journey" with small units of Scouts making their way to the main camp, which is the second stage.
Roverway is usually held every three years and hosted by a member organisation of the European Scout Region:

Andorra

is one of only four of the world's independent countries that do not have Scouting. The population is sufficiently large to sustain Scouting, but the Scout association of the tiny enclave in the Pyrenees has been dormant since the 1980s and at present there is no Scouting Movement.

Vatican City

There is currently no Scouting organization in Vatican City.

Presently unrecognized

Until 2014, Beslidhja Skaut Albania was the recognised National Scout Organization in Albania.

Non-WOSM European Scouting

Two other multinational Europe-specific Scout organizations exist, not linked to WOSM, the only geographic area to have such. These are the Confédération Européenne de Scoutisme and the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d'Europe.